Preference negotiations between Labor and Greens to have a significant impact on federal election; Greens want all of Labor’s preferences in Senate

Preference negotiations be­tween Labor and the Greens, which could have a significant im­pact on the federal election, were growing increasingly fractious, reported The Sydney Morning Herald (11/9/2007, p.6).Brown to ALP: don’t take Greens for granted The Greens leader, Bob Brown, sought a meeting with the Oppo­sition Leader, Kevin Rudd, on 10 September after a stand-off between the parties’ negotiators. Senator Brown said Labor was taking Green preferences in lower house electorates for granted. He said if a deal was not finalised soon, the Greens would run open tickets, which could re­duce the flow of preferences to Labor and be enough to change the results in highly marginal lower house seats.

Deal with mutual benefits likely in NSW, Qld: “Greens supporters want a change of government but they see Kevin Rudd going to Tasmania and saying he is 100 per cent behind the Prime Minister on forests and pulp mills,” Senator Brown said. The Greens want all of Labor’s preferences in the Senate. They would then direct their preferences to the ALP in 18 marginal electorates, including seven in Queensland, which are critical to the election result. A similar deal is believed to have been struck in NSW.